Hardness testing

Hardness tests are used to determine the hardness of a material. The term hardness refers to a material's mechanical Resistance to penetration by a harder body. Standardised indentation processes are used for technical hardness tests.

The test pieces have a defined shape (sphere, cone, pyramid) and are normally made of hard metal or diamond. During the test, they press into the Material with a specified Force.

A distinction is made between methods applying the load slowly (Brinell, Rockwell, Vickers, Martens) and suddenly (Poldi, Baumann-Steinrück, Shore).

Since a material's Strength also influences the results of hardness testing, this strength can be approximated using hardness tests.